Snippet from my sequel for Messages from Henry.

Hello. Thank you for visiting my blog today. I’m author, Rebecca Scarberry (@Scarberryfields on Twitter). Have now published 3 ebooks, Messages from Henry, Rag Doll, and Jumper. The following snippet is from the sequel to Messages from Henry, the novella so many love. I took on a co-author for the sequel, Francis Potts (@FPotts on Twitter) because I sent 4 main characters to England. I’ve never been there. Please take a few minutes out of your busy schedules to read more about Henry, the hero pigeon. Francis and I hope to publish this romance story very soon. The cover will be revealed when published.

                                                  THE PRINCE OF PIGEONS

Chapter 1. Henry goes to school.

“Tammy, I received the most wonderful letter in the mail!” Evelyn shouted over the phone to her long-time friend and neighbor.

“Who’s the letter from?”

“It’s from the president of the Parent Teachers Association. She says the children attending Pickford Elementary school were learning about carrier pigeons when word of Henry saving my life, hit the local news. She says they have an award for Henry and want me to bring him to an awards ceremony.”

“That’s so lovely, Evelyn. When is it?”

“Hang on. I’ll look at the letter. October 2nd. It’s a Saturday. Will you be able to come too? After all, without you to read the messages, I’d be dead.”

The thought made Tammy shiver. “Of course, I’d love to come with you. I’m trying to picture what they could have possibly made for him.”

“I don’t care what they made. Henry is going to love their attention.”

Tammy showed up at Evelyn’s beautiful, large farmhouse an hour before they had to have Henry at the school auditorium. She was dressed in a casual pastel orange dress that complimented her red curly hair and azure eyes. Her high heels matched her dress perfectly.

As soon as Evelyn opened the front door, she looked at Tammy’s shoes and said, “Well, I guess I’ll be going out to give Henry a quick grooming by myself. You certainly can’t walk through the mud in those heels.”

“I could just slap you, Evelyn,” Tammy teased. “I was expecting a compliment and Henry all ready to go.”

Evelyn laughed and then said, “No, he’s not ready yet. I’ve been fussing with my out-of-control hair for half an hour. My hair is the same color as yours, but it certainly isn’t as controllable.”

“Your hair looks beautiful and you look so pretty in that light green dress. Have to tell you though; you’re going to have to lose the house slippers.”

Evelyn laughed as she removed the slippers, and replaced them with black rubber boots.

“Oh, those look much better,” Tammy joked.

Evelyn looked back at Tammy and rolled her eyes, as she headed for the backdoor. Once she arrived with Henry, in a nice clean cat carrier, she placed him on the kitchen floor.

Tammy looked at Henry, staring up at her. “Hello, Henry. Why you look beautiful. Your pure white feathers glisten, and your yellow eyes look brilliant, as usual.”

“I wiped him down a little bit, but I agree he looks beautiful. Like his girlfriend, Cecilia, he likes to keep his feathers in pristine condition. Let me put my heels on and we’re ready to go.”

The traffic held Evelyn and Tammy up. There had been an accident on the freeway earlier, and traffic hadn’t normalized.

Once the two entered the crowded auditorium, many of the children in the back rows turned to see who had entered. They immediately rose from their seats and began to clap. Once the others within earshot heard them clapping, they stood to see what it was about. Before Evelyn and Tammy took another step, the auditorium was filled with the sound of hundreds of people applauding. Evelyn looked down at Henry and found him bobbing his head. It was as though he was thanking them. She smiled big and raised the carrier above her head, for all to see.

A chubby, gray-haired woman in her fifties came up behind them and patted Evelyn on the back. “Come this way, Mrs. Bury. We have a seat for you on stage.”

Evelyn set the carrier on the floor next to her wooden chair, on stage. Once Evelyn sat down, proceedings began.

A tall, thin woman in her thirties stood at a podium and began, “Good afternoon. I’m Sharon Batista. Thank you all for coming this evening to honor Henry. Evelyn, we all want to thank you for bringing your hero to meet all of us tonight. We read in all the newspapers and saw your story on the local television news. We were all rooting Henry on, and praying you would be saved from death by the hands of your kidnapper. With each message Henry delivered to your dear friend, Tammy Wade, we were hoping that would be the one message to lead the authorities to you. I also want to add, we are so sorry for the loss of your son, Scott. We know he was trying very hard to pay the ransom and save your life. I don’t want to put you on the spot, but I’m wondering if you’d like to say a few words”.

Evelyn rose from her chair, Sharon stepped away from the podium, and Evelyn adjusted the microphone. “Thank you, Sharon for your kind words. Tammy and I have been looking forward to this night for weeks. I’m thankful my dearly beloved husband trained Henry so well. Had it not been for Henry’s special abilities, and my loving friend Tammy, I never would have been found. Thank you all for coming to meet him.” As she walked back to her seat, the crowd applauded. Sharon returned to the podium, “Thank you, Evelyn. I would like to introduce you to one of Henry’s dearest fans, six-year-old Martin Quinten. He has the award, he made himself, and one-hundred and fifty students agreed was the perfect award for your special bird.”